Prayer

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to a Ladies Ministry event at our church and it was an awaking experience. Every year except for one, I have attended our retreats but had not had the chance to make it to one of these. During our time there, we had a lady from our church body deliver God's message to us as the ladies of our church. There were numerous things brought to light that I would like to write down for reference and to share with those that may read this journal.

1) How often do we say, "God I need this or please do this!"? Guess what, that is dictating to our creator to do something. Like most I am sure, we do not intent to do this or mean to tell him to do anything but think about it. When we pray we come with things or wish that we want and usually don't come just to praise His name and thank Him. I have found that I am opening my prayers in songs, praises songs!Needless to say, I was not doing that before I got this insight!!! I now pray that the Lord will's will be active in my live so that when God opens a door that I will not miss that opportunity or be rady to hear ALL HIS instructions.

2) When we pray, do you pray for our nation and it's leaders. We are suppose to pray for just that in our country. I am sure that most recall Jesus saying in his last hours of his life, "God forgive them for they know not what they do". This tells me that if the Lord prayed for those that He did not know and the ones that crucified him that maybe we should be doing that too. We should be praying for those that are lost to sin and those that don't know how to ask for forgiveness. We are apart of this Nation that we love and when one person in our nation and church body is sick, we are too. WE MUST PRAY FOR EACH OTHER AND TAKE IT BEFORE THE KING OF GLORY. The Lord knows our hearts before we bring it to him but he tells us that if we bring it to him, he will hear. Sometimes we need to bring those things to him so that He can do his work and will not sin by worrying. Needless to say, I still have a problem with this...

3) I am sure most have also heard of cases were people have said something like, " I wish you were never born!" or "I hate you and wish you were not my parent, or sibling, or relative!" In the book of Genesis it talks about how the human race was given chances and chances again and again but they continues to make God angry and sad. It finally got to the point were God basically said that what he had created was bad and he wished he had never created the human race. Genesis 6:5-8
"5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD."
I don't know about you but I know that I problaby make God very sad and ashamed of me often because of my earthly life. Does He think I should not have been born or mcuh less the human race, AGAIN?! SIDENOTE: One of my bestfriends from church told me that I was "too earthy". I was like WHAT?! I just took a shower?!---That was not what they meant at all. They said that I seemed to grounded to this earth and not lifted in God's name and desires. I toil for the things of this earth and let then guide me into sin everyday. I "sweat the small stuff". Paul is an amazing example of how to live the Christian life. He suffered for Christ and learned from God's love what true Joy is about. Joy and Happiness are two completely different words in meaning regarding Christian faith. We should have Joy in our Sufferings. Happiness is over rated and most of the time is of the fleshy kind. Joy can only be acheived true Christian tribulations and sufferings for Christ. I fall short of the true joy 95% of my life so therefore I pray that if you are reading this blog that you will pray for me to get UNEARTHLY, and get over myself. To often I find myself in the excuse business than the encouraging and loving business. It is all about attitude and you deteremine what it will be when it enters your mind. So what you are tired or fat, grumpy or feel bad... You have choice to be happy or sad when you wake. Remember that when someone calls or comes to see you, that they need you to be there for them and not give them attitude. If you got attitude why would they want your company and for that much, how could God work thru you to minister to them be it just visitings or sharing life with eaht other!

4) We MUST guard our ears, tongue, eyes, mind, and hands. When you think of something that is UnGodly you can SNUFF it out right then while it is in your mind before it can develope into a problem and pollute your thoughts but if you speak it, it is too late. It is out there and you will have to deal with it in more than one way or another. What do we watch or hear...JUNK AND JUNK OUT they say and it is so true. Our youth group just got back from going to camp and they gave an example of one the events that really impacted them and it impacted me too. I would like to share it with you as well. They were out playing in mud as one of their ice breaker events, and the leader asked that they grab their bibles and look at some scripture. Immediately they responded that their hands were dirty... He asked them, " What is the matter with having dirty hands and opening your bibles", they then responded that it would get the bible dirty and possibly unusable. The Leader than went on to say that, If our hands are dirty from the world we live in, and we don't wash them often, why wouldn't GOD's words get populated and maybe twisted by sin before it get to our hearts, minds, and hands. Lets say that you opened your bible with your muddy hands and it splashed on the pages, how can you place His word in our heart if you don't know it all---can't see it all. You see, our lives are dirty and we have to come to God to ask him to wash us clean in order to get ALL His words into our hearts. When our hearts are dirty GOD can't come in and do all his work, and it is the same with our hands. If we were to speak or serve with our hands for God's Will, why would anyone what Christ in their lives or believe that we have Christ in our souls if our hands that serve are muddy! How could they get full view or message of God... After all we are dirty and not anything that they would want to be apart of. WE MUST be clean for the Lord to use US.. HOW PROFOUND THAT WAS TO ME... I AM SO GUILTY OF THIS AND HAVE SIN IN MY LIFE.

5) There are 3 primary sins that are referenced in 1 John 2:15-17:
"15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world— the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does —comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

The Garden of Eden, Jesus being tempted in the desert,and even today.The simple but complex sins of: Lust for hunger, Lust of the eyes, and Pride of life will be our undoing. All these situations are rooted in these events listed above and even for todays and tomorrows events.

These all just really woke my soul and I pray that I will remember this therefore I am writing it out so that I will have this record of the insight to which I long to live my life from now on. I found an amazing website that is a devotion style book written by Oswald Chambers.. Someone dear gave me the book and it is amazing.. CHECK IT ... It is worth your time MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST.
I hope that this has been as insightful for you as it has been for me and if you have any comments or anything that you would like to share or have a question about this matter, by all means, leave me a comment...


***DO YOU KNOW JESUS BECAUSE HE KNOWS YOU. God knows every hair on your head (Luke 12:6-8 NIV:Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies[a]? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows), and he gave his only son for you John 3:16 KJV-For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.)
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